Tradition has it that St. Timothy came from Asia to convert Rheims, suffered martyrdom, together with St. Apollinaris and several companions, on the hill known as _La Pompelle_, so-called perhaps from the procession (_pompa_ or _pompella_) which, in the Middle Ages, used to visit the place of martyrdom of the saints.
This hill, which rises close to the crossing of the Rheims-St.-Hilaire-le-Grand and Rheims-Châlons Roads, was fortified after 1870, to flank the position of Berru on the south.
The road from Rheims to Saint-Hilaire-le-Grand (_G.C. 7_), which used to start from the "Alger Inn," at the cross-roads mentioned above, no longer exists. Like the inn, it was obliterated by the shelling. A huge crater now occupies the site of the Alger Inn (_photo below_).
[Illustration: CRATER, WHERE USED TO STAND THE "ALGER INN"]
[Illustration: THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY OF WHAT WAS THE "ALGER INN" (1918)]
_Continue along N. 44. About 1 kilometre from the fort, at a bend in the road_, the shattered remnants of trees of an avenue are visible on the left. Under the first fir-tree of this avenue, about 20 yards from the national road, is an armoured machine-gun shelter, almost intact.
_Cross the railway (l.c.) near the entirely destroyed station of Petit-Sillery. After passing a ruined château on the left, cross the bridge over the Vesle. At the fork beyond the bridge, leave N. 44 and take G.C. 8 on the right to_ =Sillery=.
This village, renowned for its dry wine, is pleasantly situated on the banks of the Vesle. Throughout the war, it was quite close to the trenches and was frequently bombarded. In May, 1916, only some fifty of its inhabitants remained in the village, which subsequently suffered very severely, especially in 1918.
_Take a turn in the village, then follow N. 44 towards Châlons (see Itinerary, p. 166)._
[Illustration: THE "PLACE DE LA MAIRIE" AT SILLERY (1918)]
The region of =Sillery-Pompelle= was the scene of much fierce fighting throughout the war. After the capture of =La Pompelle= and the "=Alger Inn=" by the French 10th Corps on the night of September 17-18, 1914, the Germans increased the number of their attacks, with a view to regaining these important positions.
One of these attacks (that of December 30, 1914) was preceded by the explosion of a mine at the "Alger Inn," which made a hole 130 feet in diameter by 55 feet deep (_see photo, p. 169_). After a hand-to-hand fight, the French drove back the enemy and remained masters of the crater.